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MEMO JWF to Pres. Nixon 3/26/69 THE WAR IN VIETNAM If there was any recognizable mandate from the electorate in the November Presidential election regarding the war in Vietnam, it was that the Vietnam war should be brought to an end as quickly and efficiently as possible. This mandate is not only a license to maneuver but virtually a popular demand. Yet time is an element that cannot be ignored, for if you do not act decisively, events will foreclose your options. It appears to me that your options are being foreclosed rapidly by what is taking place in South Vietnam and what is not taking place in Paris. The failure of United States negotiators, thus far, to pursue private diplomacy in Paris on substantive issues, plus increasing casualties in South Vietnam must raise serious questions in the minds of the North Vietnamese about United States objectives, and will also at some point -- perhaps very soon -- reduce your choices to embarking on a major stepping up of the war, on